


Party Favors

by LeChatRouge673



Series: Thea's Song [26]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Modern AU, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 10:58:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19333177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeChatRouge673/pseuds/LeChatRouge673
Summary: Curious about what happens next? The story picks up in Where Lightning Strikes the Sea. ;)





	Party Favors

_17 Cloudreach, 9:25 Dragon_

“Thea, you’ve got to come out.”

“No.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “Thea, you either open the door willingly, or I swear to the Maker I will pick the lock. You are _not_ missing this party.”

“Fine,” his best friend retorted, fully calling his bluff. “Pick the lock. See if I care.”

“Thea, please.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, resisted the urge to sigh. “It cannot possibly be that bad. Do you know how hurt Cat will be if you’re not there? She is only going to turn sixteen once. I feel like you can spend a few hours in an evening dress to make her happy today.”

There was a span of silence, then the quiet _click_ of Thea unlocking her bedroom door. Nate opened it and stepped in before she could change her mind. Which turned out to be a wise choice, because when he saw her sitting on her bed with arms crossed and a scowl, he could not help laughing. Which, of course, only caused her to deepen her glare and begin muttering a string of swear words that would have earned her more than a shocked expression from her aunt.

“What in the void are you wearing?”

Thea rolled her eyes, then flopped back against the bed. “I didn’t pick it, ok? Cat did.”

It was not exactly a _bad_ dress: a pretty spring green gown that set off Thea’s hair in a gauzy, diaphanous material that billowed out from the cinched waist into voluminous layers of skirt. The bodice was glittering with an abundance of sparkling crystals that did wonders to reflect the mutinous sparks in her storm blue eyes.

No, the dress itself was not terrible: a bit much, maybe, but it was made even more ostentatious by the fact that the girl wearing it clearly hated it. It was not a dress for a fourteen-year-old girl, and they both knew it. She looked lopsided, somehow, and desperately uncomfortable. Her hair had been done up in some sort of intricate style, and she was wearing more makeup than he knew she would be comfortable with.

“I look like I could be smuggling a damn circus under here,” she grumbled.

“Or attending an old school cotillion,” Nate snickered, sitting down on the bed beside her. “It would maybe be less awkward if you did not have the clown make-up to go with it.”

She gave him a half-hearted punch in the arm before flopping back against the bed, and he lay down beside her, trying to think of something comforting to say and failing. Thea was pretty, but she did best when she could appear on her own terms. This was just… awkward. “Come on, Thea, it won’t be that bad.”

“They’re all going to laugh at me,” she muttered. “And they’ll be right to. I look stupid.”

“You look very nice,” he reassured her. “Besides, we’ve got to be there for Cat. Is this really worth breaking her heart over?”

“Counteroffer,” Thea replied, “Why don’t you grow a spine and tell her how you feel? She’ll be so deliriously happy she won’t even notice her court jester cousin didn’t appear.”

“Teddy, you know I can’t,” Nate sighed. “She- ” _She deserves better_ , he thought grimly. There was a reason he spent every spring, summer, and winter holiday with the Couslands rather than at home. He even had his own room here, so bad was his life with his own family. He needed to get out and sort through his own drama before dragging Cat into it, assuming he was lucky enough to have her return his feelings.

Thea reached over and took his hand. “Second counteroffer.” She gave it a gentle squeeze, and her tone was kinder. “Promise me you’ll dance with her at least once? Give me that, and I’ll go.”

“Deal,” Nate smiled at her, then stood and helped her up. “And I’ll even throw in a better bargain.” He glanced down at her feet.

“I won’t even tell them you’re not wearing any shoes.”

 

* * *

 

 

_19 Solace, 9:29 Dragon_

“Thea, you’ve got to come out.”

Nathaniel poked his head out of his bedroom and glanced down the hall where Bryce Cousland was pleading with his niece. The other man turned to look at him and gave him a helpless shrug before walking towards him. “Nate, would you please talk to her? She might come out for you.”

Nate frowned slightly. “Why won’t she come out this time? She picked her own dress. And why do you think I am going to have any better luck than you?”

Bryce rubbed his forehead briefly. “Because she knows I do not disagree with her, and she knows I am being an absolute hypocrite by asking her to make an appearance. Honestly, if it were up to me, I would let her stay home and pout because I am more concerned about what she might do if we make her come, but this gala is important to Eleanor.”

“What do you mean, you ‘do not disagree with her’?”

Bryce shrugged, but did not answer. “Please, just talk to her?” Then he turned and walked back down the hall. Nathaniel sighed, then grabbed his jacket from the back of the desk chair and strode towards Thea’s door. He rapped briskly against the wood, then waited.

“I am not coming out, Nathaniel, so you can go ahead and fuck right the fuck off.”

“Well you _are_ in a mood, aren’t you?” He retorted drily. “What exactly is your problem? You agreed to go. You know how important this is to your aunt. You are acting like a child rather than the adult you supposedly are now.”

“Fine by me,” she growled.

“Thea.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Make _him_ leave, and I’ll come out.”

 _Oh_.

“Teddy Girl,” he exhaled softly. “Please open the door.”

A faint click, and then the door swung open and Nathaniel entered, shutting it quietly behind him. “Thea, you cannot hold Cat’s love life hostage.”

Thea glared at him, tears sparkling in her eyes and threatening her flawless mascara. She was growing into a beautiful woman, really. Still a bit awkward at times; still trying to figure herself out, but it was not going to be too much longer before she was going to be breaking hearts. And Nathaniel had no doubt she would be breaking them: Thea’s standards were exacting and punishing, and he was not certain anyone would ever meet them. When she finally spoke, her voice cracked on the words.

“I hate him, Nate.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the spot beside him. Thea neatly rearranged the skirt of her midnight blue dress, then settled down beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then said, “You do not hate Alistair, Thea. You hate that he is dating Cat.”

“Can’t it be both?”

He squeezed her closer. “I mean, I suppose? But I don’t think that’s the case.”

“She hasn’t slept with him, you know.”

“Not sure that’s any of my business, Teddy.”

She shrugged. “Probably not any of mine, either, but that does not mean I was not going to find out.”

Nate would never admit it, but the knowledge _did_ make him feel better. “Thea,” he said gently, “I know you are not happy she’s seeing someone. And you know _I’m_ not exactly happy about it either. Which is why I really need you there tonight. I am going to be struggling as it is. Do you really want me to be struggling alone? Because if I show up without a date and she is there with him, I am just going to look really pathetic, and I know you don’t want that.”

Thea growled and muttered something under her breath, but Nate smiled. He knew he had her. She stood up with a roll of her eyes, then accepted the arm he offered her. “Cheap shot, Nate,” she grumbled, and he laughed.

“It worked, didn’t it?” They descended the stairs to where Bryce, Eleanor, Cat, and Alistair were waiting. Nathaniel saw Bryce flash him a grateful smile and Eleanor exhale a small sigh of relief, but Cat was still eyeing her cousin warily. Alistair offered the younger woman a bright smile.

“Wow, Thea, you look great!”

Thea stared blankly at him for a long moment, then opened her mouth as if to say something, but Nathaniel gave her arm a gentle squeeze and she seemed to think better of it. She tossed her long, auburn hair over her shoulder and walked out the front door without a backwards glance. The others followed, save for Cat, who held him back for a moment. To his surprise, she arched up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I do not want to make this evening any harder than it is already going to be.”

Nathaniel glanced at her, frowning slightly. “What do you mean?”

Cat shuffled on her feet slightly, her eyes dropping away. “I’m breaking up with him, Nate. Not tonight, obviously, but probably tomorrow morning. It’s just… he’s very sweet, but it’s just not working. I’m not sure if it ever really has.” She sighed. “Please don’t tell Thea. She is already probably going to be impossible; I don’t want to give her any ammunition before I absolutely have to.”

“Of course not, Cat,” he promised, trying to keep his heart from leaping out of his chest. “But I don’t think you’re giving her enough credit. I think the only reason she has been so antagonistic towards him is…” He caught himself; stopped from speaking the words he knew would only make things a thousand times worse at the moment. “We should… we should probably catch up.”

“Yeah,” Cat agreed, her eyes tired.

“I guess we better get this over with.”

 

* * *

 

 

_23 Drakonis, 9:41 Dragon_

“She is in a mood.”

Nathaniel looked down at his wife, who was staring at her cousin with a mix of sympathy and exasperation. “You know she hates these things, Wildflower,” he pointed out as he brushed a kiss to her cheek. “Which is almost a pity, because she looks absolutely stunning. The second most beautiful woman in the room.”

Cat gave him a playful smack on the arm, but she was smiling brightly. The best part was, Nathaniel was not exaggerating. While no one would ever compare to Cataline in his eyes, his best friend and cousin-in-law was a close second. He had been right, all those years ago: she had grown up into a breathtakingly beautiful woman. Confident, devastatingly intelligent, and unapologetically sarcastic.

It was probably the latter two qualities that had made it exceedingly difficult for Thea to find a partner she approved of. She would not settle, and Nathaniel was fiercely proud of her for it, but even he had to admit he worried sometimes. While he would never presume to tell her she needed a lover to somehow be complete, she had confided to him that she envied the love he had found with Cataline. Thea had left a trail of broken hearts and disappointment in her wake, but she had never been disingenuous about what she wanted.

“I’ll go talk to her,” Nate offered, earning another sweet smile from Cat. “See if I can’t at least convince her to stop rolling her eyes so much.”

“Good luck,” she laughed, squeezing his hand before drifting off to chat with her parents. Nathaniel meandered over to his best friend, who was at the moment sipping a glass of wine and wrinkling her nose ever so slightly. He knew she would have been happier with a dark beer or a shot of whiskey, but either option would have been incongruous with the rest of the party.

“They send in the cavalry?” She asked as he approached.

“Something like that,” he chuckled. “You know, most people tend to be a bit more enthused about their own birthday parties.”

Thea gracefully waved her free arm out in an arc around the room. “You really think I wanted _any_ of this, Nate? I don’t even know half these people. This is not my birthday party: it’s Bryce and Eleanor’s retirement. It’s them handing the business over to Cat and me. It’s…” Her voice trailed off, but he knew where her mind was. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned her head against his chest. “I’m panicking a bit, Nate. I wish I could just run away.”

“Well…” He hesitated, looking around the ballroom. “Good news. It looks like Nora just showed up, so of course everyone is flocking in that direction. If you hurry, you can probably slip out the back to the gardens for a bit. I’ll stall your aunt and uncle as long as I can.”

Her face lit up. “Oh you are the absolute _best_ , Nate.” She arched up on her feet which, unsurprisingly, were already shoeless, and pressed a firm kiss against his cheek. “I owe you.”

He laughed. “You absolutely do. Now go, before you lose the window.”

Thea slipped away, silent as a shadow. Nathaniel was about to make his way back to his wife when he was stopped by none other than Anora herself. “She has run off already, hasn’t she?” The queen asked, a small smile quirking at her lips.

“Of course,” Nathaniel returned the gesture and accepted the hug Anora offered. “I’m amazed she lasted this long. A whole fifteen minutes.”

Anora shook her head with a small, musical laugh. “I thought I saw her sneaking out the back, and now I am deeply regretting not catching her. A pity. I have someone I wanted to introduce her to.”

Nathaniel raised a brow in her direction, his mind suddenly alert. “Oh? You must be either very brave or very reckless, throwing some poor man or woman at her. You know how she’s been with all the others.”

“Of course I do,” she retorted. “And I am neither. I am simply very confident in my knowledge of both Thea and the man in question. I think she would be good for him. I think they would be good for each other,” she spoke quietly, her expression thoughtful, then she looked up to face him. “I love her too, Nate. I would not have put these pieces in motion if I did not think he was right for her.”

“ _What_ pieces?” Nathaniel asked, his curiosity now fully piqued.

Anora simply smiled before taking him by the arm and leading him towards Cat.

“You’ll see.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Curious about what happens next? The story picks up in Where Lightning Strikes the Sea. ;)


End file.
